Leopard Print + Plum Pants

Happy Tuesday loves! I hope you all survived your Mondays. I, for one, am happy to be one day closer to the weekend! So today I would like to talk briefly about my relationship with leopard. Before this year I didn't own a single item in this gorgeous print. Hard to believe, right? I was a little scared that I would look silly, that it wasn't age appropriate, and even that I would look cheap (I could only image leopard print velour clothing lined with faux fur, eek!). A lot of fear for a print right? Well I am happy to report that I am a full leopard convert. It is seriously one of my favorite prints now, and I could not possibly agree more with Jenna Lyons that leopard is a neutral. It is the perfect print to mix with any color or print and can actually add a little something special to an otherwise ordinary outfit. I now own several pair of leopard print shoes, a belt, and now this fabulous cardigan which I grabbed on sale with the cartwheel app at Target for $12, win!

Cardigan - Target / Chambray - Old Navy / Pants - Old Navy / Shoes - Target 

Purse - Target, out online (option) / Bracelets - c/o Hawthorne Collection & Urban Peach Boutique

Necklace - Jane (original) / Nail Polish - Essie Sole Mate

Today I have paired my leopard print cardigan with plum colored cords and a chambray shirt. Since colored pants tend to be a bolder fashion choice for me, I kept my accessories neutral with black flats and bag, and simple gold and jewelry. I also broke out my darker lip colors as the temperatures began to drop last week, so I am officially using a bold lip as the finishing accessory to my outfits. This outfit is comfortable, but put-together, and is perfect for wearing to work and then transitioning to class at night.

I must admit that when this J.Crew Factory inspired piece showed up on Jane.com a few weeks ago, I was thrilled. Being on a grad student budget, I couldn't justify spending over $60 on one necklace. Luckily the bargain site allowed me to score this gorgeous inspired piece for only $20, a mere fraction of the cost of the original, but with all of the wow factor. It seriously goes with everything and I have been wearing it pretty non-stop the last few weeks. I'm totally smitten.

Lastly, I want to take a moment to speak quickly about these pants (also seen here). I love colored pants and that you can flip the traditional way of associating colors and patterns with the shirt or top portion of an outfit and switch to have the pants or bottom portion of an outfit be the focus. When wearing colored bottoms, it is important to keep the top off of your outfit relatively neutral to avoid looking like a clown. Chambray and leopard are both things that I would consider neutral, to pairing them on top of a colored pant seems like a natural fit to me. If you want to get yourself a pair of these cords, they are currently an extra 30% on Old Navy's website (promo code HOL2013)

(image via)

How do you wear leopard in your outfits?

How would you style colored pants?

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous day!

First Day of Fall: Mustard, Plum, and Taupe

Happy Monday lovelies! I hope you had a great weekend. Mine was full of homework, cleaning, and lots of fall activities to ring in the official start of my FAVORITE season!! Seriously, I am sure you are all feeling the fall frenzy; the start of football, the change of the leaves, the crisp air, the return of the beloved pumpkin spice latte, and most of all bundling up in the rich colored and cozy textured clothing that define fall fashion. Here in the mitten, the weather has been teasing towards fall since August, which has been wonderful as the weather dipped into the 60's and frustrating when the temperature fluctuated up. Either way, it feels like fall has finally arrived and I could not be more happy.

One of my absolute favorite things to do in the fall is visit local cider mills and apple orchards. There is something about being outside, hot cider in hand, strolling through the woods, that just feels "right." Like all the stars have aligned to give you an amazing gift. Yesterday was definitely one of those days. The weather was overcast and cool, the river by the cider mill was bubbling and flowing briskly, the cider with hot and spiced, and I was wrapped up in my newest, coziest sweater as we explored the great outdoors. 

For our first official fall excursion, I chose to wear my new Old Navy Rockstar Cords in California Plum, which just screamed fall to me, with tons of layers on top. I love the luxe color of these pants and decided to pair the rich purple with its complementary hue mustard, for a bold fall look. Mustard promises to be a must have color this fall, and I have seen many fabulous pieces in the color. I picked up this mustard tank from Target a few weeks ago, just to get my feel wet a little on the trend. Since the Mustard and plum are very strong colors, I chose to keep the rest of my accessories neutral, enter the taupe booties, tortoise necklace, leopard scarf, cognac bag, and taupe-y brown sweater. Finally, since the cider mill is off a river and we knew we'd be walking the adjacent trails, I grabbed my navy puffer vest to stay warm. 

These were so comfy to walk in, highly recommend =)

I can't stop wearing this pave link bracelet from Hawthorne Collection!

Vest - Old Navy / Sweater - Target (this color in stores only) / Tank - Target / Cords - Old Navy 

 Necklace - SassySteals (option) / Bracelet - c/o Hawthorne Collection (option) 

Scarf - Payless / Belt - Target / Booties - Old Navy

We headed to Yates Cider Mill in the late afternoon, after having brunch with my sister, heading to Michael's to get supplies for dressing my apartment up for fall, and doing some homework. It was a relaxing afternoon with my bf, spent walking the trails and snapping these photos, followed by hot cider and fresh cinnamon sugar donuts. During our walk, my light layers were comfy and kept me warm along the river. Overall, it was the perfect start to fall. Here are some other pics from my iPhone.

The leaves are already starting to change color!

At the cider mill!

 

Fresh cinnamon sugar donut, yum!

Hot apple ciders and donuts, plus a half gallon to go =)

How did you spend the first day of fall?

What trends are you most excited to try this fall?

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulous day!